Religion: What it means to you

Please, please, PLEASE don't turn this into a shit-flinging contest? PLEASE?

How does religion weigh in your personal life? Has it helped you through hard times? Has it formed a kind of moral construct for you? Are you devout, a believer, or don't believe at all?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Atheist here. I don't believe in any god (not just yours, dear reader, so don't take it personally...yours is/are not the only god(s) ) due to a lack of evidence.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Follower of Christ, though I struggle with it now and then. This faith system has contributed towards my world view concerning morality and our being.

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I have to say I think there's probably some greater power out somewhere so I'm not really an atheist or an agnostic. That being said, I think religions are useless. It seems to me that when it comes to morals secular humanism makes the most sense. I suppose I might be considered a anti-denominational monotheist, to make up a phrase.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

It may sound pretty bad to say that but religion to me is just something I do to amuse myself. I love reading about end of days theories and so on. I read through the bible and read through all kinds of interpretations of it online but in the end I've never really felt any sort of "spirituality" from it. I would really like to one day but as of now I can be put into the non-believers category. I do know quite a bit on the subject though, despite my lack of real feeling toward it. My love for religion most likely comes from my love for history.

I must admit, in times of extreme stress and confusion, I normally fall back on religion and find myself preying for a loved one when they are about to die. I guess a lot of people probably only really fall back on religion as a way of making them feel they have some type of control over a situation that they really don't.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by knkwzrd

I have to say I think there's probably some greater power out somewhere so I'm not really an atheist or an agnostic. That being said, I think religions are useless. It seems to me that when it comes to morals secular humanism makes the most sense. I suppose I might be considered a anti-denominational monotheist, to make up a phrase.

I think that makes you an agnostic if you believe there is a higher force (not necessarily a god or such)

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by valiant

Follower of Christ, though I struggle with it now and then. This faith system has contributed towards my world view concerning morality and our being.

Just out of curiosity, was your religion handed down to you in your family?

No one take offense, please - I think a lot of people just accept the religion that their family has been for ages and runs with it. I see a lot of it with Catholics, really. I am not saying all Catholics are like that, but so many seem to just claim their Catholicism without ever having checked what Catholicism entails, I guess. They just accept and move on.

Sorry. I went off on a tangent. Back to the original question. Is your religion something you learned from your family? Or did you get into it yourself?

This question stands for everyone, really. I am curious to see how many families out there do what mine does.

FELIPE NO

I wouldn't go as far as saying that I'm an atheist, but I'm not a follower of any type of religion. I generally look down at religion, as it seems to offer nothing except starting debates and wars. I don't find it wrong for anyone to believe in some kind of higher being, I guess I'm just more opposed to the whole organized group of believers coming together thing. I just don't like organized religion, so I can't take the idea of it seriously. I mean, if you really believe in this stuff, why can't you do it on your own instead of having to get together with a large group to do it?

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Yep pretty much I picked up my faith from my family. Through experience and several internal debates...I find that I cannot escape from this faith for it is logical to me and appropiate due to its credibility.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Reform Judiasm. I haven't been to temple in over an year (=o Sorry god!). I don't let my religion rule my life, but I use it more like guidelines in my life then strict rules like some people I know.
My religion has been passed down the years in my family, it just went from orthodox to reform over the years tho!

There's nowhere I can't reach.

This John Lennon quotes pretty much sums up my views on religion:

Originally Posted by John Lennon

I believe in God, but not as one thing, not as an old man in the sky. I believe that what people call God is something in all of us. I believe that what Jesus and Mohammed and Buddha and all the rest said was right. It's just that the translations have gone wrong.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Religeon has influenced my life, I am a Lutheran and proud of it. I go by the way of this, you don't bother me, I won't bother you. If you are interested in religeon, I'll gladly tell you about mine. Tis as simple as that.

I however do not go to church due to me feeling of this, if the Bible says all I need to do is believe then that is what I will do. There is no reason ever should i feel forced or even have someone tell me that I must go to church...

None the less, the morals and God's laws that are in there have weighed in my decisions a lot.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Agent Olive

This John Lennon quotes pretty much sums up my views on religion:

I'd accuse you of having a very narrow minded point of view toward religion but I doubt it's much more narrow then most people's.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Religon hasn't had too much an impact in my life as far as my own personal religon goes, but I think religon as a whole affects everyone to some degree. I'm pagan with my own thing cause that's the only way it makes any sense. It indirectly affects stuff. But those that are pagan, know what I mean by that. The whole energy direction thing.

I know down here in MS, religon (other people's in response to mine ) tends to be interesting to say the least. I still get that "if you dont believe in the same thing I do you'll burn blah blah blah" but it's such a regular thing it's no big deal. Though luckily it's gotten to where most people just dont care though a few have tried to change my mind.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I'm very eclectic when it comes to religion... I'm not any religion per-say I guess, but I manage to take the teachings and practices from the ones that I find inspiring and apply them to my everyday life.

I am closest to being a Wicca, but I keep a few Christian and Buddhist teachings under my belt too ^_^

FELIPE NO

Religion is actually quite a big part in my life, but I don't have any beliefs in it. I went to a Seventh Day Adventist church school for a few years and obviously they taught religion, but it was all just to much for me to believe in.

Friends bring it up a lot. I can't really help them with spiritual stuff like that. It comes up more than enough though. They look for something to believe in, but they don't take the time for church or listen to it enough to believe in I guess.

The other weekend, I was walking across the street and this older guy stops me and says I was some evil/bad person because I didn't take a belief in God at all and he got into a pretty big argument with me. He would say something and I would counter it with something else. It was quite pointless, but I didn't ask for someone to yell at me for no believing in it.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by RockgamerXIII

I wouldn't go as far as saying that I'm an atheist, but I'm not a follower of any type of religion. I generally look down at religion, as it seems to offer nothing except starting debates and wars. I don't find it wrong for anyone to believe in some kind of higher being, I guess I'm just more opposed to the whole organized group of believers coming together thing. I just don't like organized religion, so I can't take the idea of it seriously. I mean, if you really believe in this stuff, why can't you do it on your own instead of having to get together with a large group to do it?

I couldn't agree with this anymore. To me, spirituality is not about trying to be 'right,' following what other people dicate to you, and 'finding' the answers. It's about exploring yourself and creating your own answers and strength.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Azral

I'm very eclectic when it comes to religion... I'm not any religion per-say I guess, but I manage to take the teachings and practices from the ones that I find inspiring and apply them to my everyday life.

I am closest to being a Wicca, but I keep a few Christian and Buddhist teachings under my belt too ^_^

please explain more, I wonder how this works

There's nowhere I can't reach.

My personal beliefs on religion would make people think I don't believe in God, but I do, to some extent. I believe someone wrote the Bible, the Torah, the Koran as a collection of stories to tell us the best and most righteous way of living our lives. There is no direct contact from God anywhere, and the stories are all false. I don't see God as the almighty being who controls everything and is able to strike down people for sinning. To me, He is just a sort of "figurehead" whom we all look up to and respect so much that we try to live our lives to please Him.

One think I loathe is people who competely take everything written in the Bible in the literal sense, and live their lives like that. Another peeve of mine is when people try to impose their beliefs on you, or try to argue scientifically by citing God. Just not my cup of tea, really.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

*Sigh* "All of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again..."

Seriously though, I'm on the fence; I suppose Agnostic is the term for it. I'm not against religion at all as long as it has a positive impact on a person and others go for it. It's when people start blowing up buildings and other people in the name of God that really makes me wonder about it.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I am Christian, and have rather strong faith in the salvatory power of Christ. However certain theological and spiritual questions have perpetually bothered me since I started looking into biblical theology. I am not habitual in my faith, meaning I don't read the Bible all that often, nor do I pray all that much (communication with God is one of those questions that I have been investigating), but I do operate with the understanding that God knows what He is talking about when He says that certain things are sinful, or unhealthy, etc.

I believe fully that Christ Came to earth to die for the sins of humans (however, another one of my questions of theology is in regards to limited/unlimited atonement and the Calvinist "election" ideas). I also believe that, rather than Christianity being so diametrically opposed to other religions, it is in fact a culmination, and completion if you will, of all the world's religions (excluding atheism). I also believe however that, although there may be common themes in the faiths all over the world, that this does not make them equally as valid as Christianity. However, I do not dare to act as if I were right, and someone else is wrong, seeing as how that wins NOBODY'S support or agreement. Rather, I try to understand where people are coming from, and what they believe (after all, there IS the possibility, however minute, that I am misunderstanding the stories of Christ). I acknowledge my lack of knowledge, and am continually trying to append to my small amount of knowledge.

Right now, as I have been researching certain aspects of the human mind(for a religion in society class), I am experiencing a changing of my perception of the nature of human spirituality as well as how God created us. I highly doubt that the naturalization of my perception of the mind will cause me to lose my faith. Rather, I see it as just a restructuring, and a bit of demystification, of my world view, but not a total drastic change.

Oh yeah, as a little addendum. God is real, alive, and active. I just have trouble seeing that in my personal life. I DEFINITELY see it done in other people's lives, which is totally awesome, and part of the reason for the perpetuation of my faith.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Nah, I really don't care about it. It doesn't affect my life in any personal way, that is unless someone is trying push their religion on to me. At that point I usually end up fighting back.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Even though I was introduced into religion since birth, I didnt really take it seriously till my late teens. All in all, religion in and of itself hasnt done much for me. I respect the traditions of Christianity, but my personal relationship with Christ has had far more value to my life.

FELIPE NO

Religion guides a large portion of my life. It doesn't govern it - I do that myself - but it gives me ideals to follow and rules that I can choose to obey or not. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the moral code that goes along with that gives me a lot that I can think about and incorporate as I desire. I happen to be one that likes to incorporate a lot of those teachings into the things I do every day. My family raised me in this belief, but my parents urged me as soon as I had the capability of individual thought to make sure that I believed everything myself, and that I wasn't just blindly following everything they held important. It's an important step I think parents need to make with their kids, or they'll grow up either loathing the church they grew up in, or following the church despite the fact that they don't really know anything about it.

How ya doing, buddy?

Proud Wiccan here. I definitely think my spirituality has helped me when things are going rough or going well, and just improved my life in general.

Jam it back in, in the dark.